1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an alignment tool, and more particularly to an alignment tool, construction and method of using the tool to align the internal surfaces of multilateral tube sections prior to connecting the tube sections together.
2. Background of the Invention
Pneumatic transport systems utilize a carrier moving inside a tube in response to pneumatic forces applied to the carrier. Typically, such systems utilize a removable cylindrical carrier moving inside a cylindrical tube. In some applications, oval carriers with mating oval transport tubes may be used. In either of the above situations, commercially available cylindrical and oval tube sections generally contain integral flanges which are effective for aligning the internal cylindrical surfaces of the tube sections. Consequently, when the tube sections are bolted together or otherwise rigidly connected, the flanges are effective to align the tube sections thereby providing a smooth transition between the internal surfaces of the tube sections. That alignment is necessary to maintain the integrity of the pneumatic seal between the carrier and the internal surface of the tube.
Some pneumatic transport systems utilize a transport tube having a multilateral cross-section which is quadrilateral, such as a square or rectangular. Maintaining a proper pneumatic seal between a multilateral carrier having external corners and a matching multilateral transport tube section is more difficult than with a circular carrier and tube section. The alignment of the internal surfaces and corners of multilateral tube sections is very critical in maintaining the integrity of the seal between a multilateral carrier and its mating tube section. However, generally multilateral tube sections are not available with integral tube aligning mechanisms.
Typically, the multilateral tube sections contain outwardly extending flanges at the ends thereof, and the flanges of adjoining tube sections are bolted together to rigidly connect the tube sections. The multilateral tube sections may range in lengths of from 3 meters to 8 meters, and a number of tube sections may be joined together over a length of up to several hundred meters. The long tube sections are relatively awkward to manipulate and handle. Further, the manufacturing tolerances of the bolt holes in the flanges of the tube sections do not permit the tube sections to be adequately aligned by simply aligning those bolt holes. Therefore, multilateral tube sections do not have any means for aligning their internal surfaces when the tube sections are connected end-to-end.